The ups, downs and sideways of being a writer.
"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." Confucius

Thursday, 7 August 2008

CHALK N CHEESE

In today’s Times, Carol Midgely says it is women’s magazines that are the worst culprits in feeding women’s obsession with trivialities. Endless features on appearance, clothes, ‘beauty’ treatments, plastic surgery ops to keep looking ‘good’, botox. They are, she says filled with articles on ‘which celebrity has put on a little weight’, who has ‘wrinkly knees’. (Don’t laugh. A recent magazine felt it worth spending column inches on the state of singer Lulu’s knees.)

But don’t bash the mags. They need to sell, and they do. By the million.

All they are doing is feeding the monkeys what they like best. Because, Carol M says, “they are overwhelmingly bought by women who gorge on the details like famished dogs on a bone.”

THANK YOU CAROL!

Now. Flip mentally to the FICTION that might occasionally appear in these magazines. Or mags like them, aimed at the same market.

And, imagine a writer who writes that stuff working in a writing group focussing on literary fiction (whatever that is… but it sure ain’t what appears in these things). And wait for the sparks to fly. In both directions.

How unpopular I have made myself, many many times… because I would NOT have womag writers in The Workhouse. Or for that matter, any writer focussing on ‘pulp’ genre work. Maybe it will change now, but I hope not.

It’s not a popular notion, but I believe that writers need to work with other writers working in the same broad area. Because then, they are speaking the same language when giving and receiving critiques.

Sure, mix it up for a bit of fun, exposure to other genres if they interest you. But then find your own kind and grow.

Think about poetry, if it helps. Would you expect a writer who wanted to compose rhyming couplets for birthday cards to contribute well to a group of award-winning contemporary poets?

And would the contemporary poets spend hours discussing the merits or otherwise of:

When I look into your eyes,My love is true, my dear,It’s being with you every dayThat makes me glad I’m here.

17 comments:

I belong to a writing group of both literary and commercial fiction writers. Many of us write both, and very well. I, for example, have had work published in The Weekly News, and have also been successful in Fish's short story comps. I find that being open to all sorts of fiction is a decided advantage. More 'strawberries and cream' than 'chalk n cheese'!

Interesting question. How about a piece that won the weekly Cafe Doom flash comp and then went on to be shortlisted in the Fish One-Pager? The story was "Visiting Time", BTW, just in case you remember it! Definitely a genre piece - although maybe that's why it got no further than the shortlist.

From my point of view, I'm keen to try literary, genre, whatever, just to see what works and what doesn't. To close one's mind off to a particular avenue seems odd.

No probs. Say hello to Ed at Cafe Doom. I had a flash in a comp there a while back. Didn't win, don't think!

But going back to the tussle which invariably surfaces when writers say how they would like to work, ideally... because it is taken as an insult or summat by supporters of whichever area the writer says they don't really want to focus on -

I agree with you. Writers can have fun, explore, try things out.

I said above:

"Sure, mix it up for a bit of fun, exposure to other genres if they interest you. But then find your own kind and grow."

Once you find where your heart is, then settle, and work. And then some.

Now. Flip mentally to the FICTION that might occasionally appear in these magazines. Or mags like them, aimed at the same market.

The magazines mentioned in the article do not, ever, carry fiction. The magazines which do carry fiction are not aimed at the same market as the ones mentioned in the article. Sure, they are all aimed at women, but, and I am sure you will agree, Vanessa, not all women are alike.

Readers of My Weekly, one of the best fiction mags on the market, tend not to buy Closer or Heat. Readers of Now wouldn't be seen dead with a copy of Woman's Weekly.

...FICTION that MIGHT occasionally appear in these magazines. Or MAGS like them, AIMED AT THE SAME MARKET.

By that, I mean the (usually female) reader who is obsessed with trivia. And who cannot 'get' a character unless they are told by the writer exactly what the character looks like, what they wear, who their boyfriends are. Where they have their hair done, and what conversations they have with the guy who colours it. What colour their flouncy bedspread is. And so forth.

Sure, there ar e a huge range of magazines aimed at all markets.

I would not however, agree with your statement "My Weekly, one of the best fiction mags on the market."

How would it compare with Prospect? The London Magazine? The Paris Review? Glimmertrain?

Maybe it is one of the best women's commercial fiction weeklies on the market?

Sorry, yes, I meant one of the best women's commercial fiction weeklies on the market.

I mean the (usually female) reader who is obsessed with trivia. And who cannot 'get' a character unless they are told by the writer exactly what the character looks like, what they wear, who their boyfriends are. Where they have their hair done, and what conversations they have with the guy who colours it. What colour their flouncy bedspread is.

Not sure who you're referring to here, but it sure ain't the readers of My Weekly and the like. Try sending them a story with characters described as above and it'll be sent back by return of post.

I have a sneaking suspicion you're not a regular reader of women's commercial fiction magazines. And that's ok - if you don't like them, don't read them. But don't diss them either. I don't diss the literary mags. I buy them sometimes, enjoy some of their stories and miss the point of others.

It is interesting though, that you don't want to say who you are. I know I've managed to get up your nose before. I recognise the pseudonym. You've wagged your finger at me several times from behind that name.

Like you, I don't 'get' some literary fiction, not instantaneously. But I still enjoy the challenge, being made to think, being shown life in a new light. I sometimes enjoy the poetry in the language. And usually the work bears reading twice, three times, and I enjoy seeing new things each read.

Maybe the stories in My Weekly give you the same enjoyment. That's great. Maybe your work is therein. Again, that's great. Congrats.

As I said above, there's room for many different approaches, in writing. My preference was to work alongside people who were attempting to break into the same market area as me. And it is what I'd advise any writer to do, once they've found where they want to aim for. Because it worked for me.

SHORT CIRCUIT -A Guide to the Art of the Short Story. (Salt Publishing, Nov. 2009)

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